I Wish I Had Known Her Better

My mother, Leona Frances Scott, was born March 2, 1935.  I am still awaiting proof of that birth date, but for now, that is the only date I have.  Her tombstone only gives the year of birth and death, so that proves to be of no value here.  I also need to find out where she was born.  I know she lived in Hume, Bates County, Missouri, but I don’t know if she was born there.

She married my father, Jerry Eneau Modrell, on June 12, 1954 in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri.

My mother and father were divorced on June 30, 1967 and my father was awarded custody of us children, although I do remember living with her for a very short period of time in an apartment in Belton, Cass County, Missouri.  When I was in my early teens, I asked my dad why I was living with him at the time of her death.  He told me that one day I had called him crying really hard and told him I wanted to come home.  He told me he did not ask any questions, he just hung up the phone, drove over to my moms and took me and my things back to his house.  And that is where I remained.

She passed away November 7, 1967 and her funeral was on my 6^th birthday.  This is where I pulled the title of this post – I wish I had known her better.

According to my father, one of her brothers (I believe it was my Uncle Bill) requested that he bury my mother as his wife and the mother of their children instead of just a single woman leaving two (2) children behind.  I was never able to confirm this with my Uncle Bill prior to his death.  I just know that my father did make all the arrangements for her funeral and even purchased a plot next to her in the cemetery in case something happened to one of us kids.

I know very little about my mom as my memories seem to be suppressed.  Some people believe it is because I suffered a lot of tragedy when I was young (my Grandma Modrell - my dad's mom - passed away just two (2) months prior to this and just three (3) months prior is when my parents were divorced).  So I had a lot of life-changing events in a very short time frame while I was little.  I am in the process of getting some “stories” about my mom from her family so I can get to know her better.

Some members of my mom’s family have found a few mementos and photos and were gracious enough to pass them on to me.  I am extremely thankful to them for those items.

My mother is buried at Green Lawn Cemetery in Swope Park, Kansas City, Missouri.